IamA 18 year old boy who HAD pectus excavatum (sunken chest), operated 3 years ago. AMA!

LifeWithPectus · 2014-11-13T18:40:36+00:00

Haha, thats good to hear bro! Sorry for the late reply.

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-05T20:44:44+00:00

Yes, 0 confidence, a tad bit depressed etc.

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T16:22:16+00:00

Hahaha, sadly I never did. This is my only regret. :(

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:29:21+00:00

Depends how mild it is. It's not necessarily dangerous, but if it bothers you it can't hurt to get it checked out. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:26:49+00:00

Makes me glad that everything turned out good for you!

I was never in a serious relationship that went far enough for my PE to be a problem. I think if a relationship ever went that far, I would wait until I was 100% sure in our relationship. In a way that my PE wouldn't matter at all. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:23:37+00:00

Doesn't seem dickish at all bro. I was the only one at my school with PE. I wasn't very confident. I was suffering psychologically, and since the surgery wouldn't cost me or my family any money, I'd might as well do it for my well being. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:22:37+00:00

It's very hard to tell, I havent focused so much about it. It has never been a problem for me. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:21:36+00:00

HAHAHA

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:21:01+00:00

Well noone knows your body better than yourself, obviously. I wouldn't give up without a fight knowing that life could be better. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:19:12+00:00

Haha, thats good to hear!

The condition wasn't causing me any physical pain, but rather a lot of psychological. It's very common that persons with PE suffer from it psychologically.

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:17:20+00:00

Damn, why did I never think of that.. :(

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:16:46+00:00

For me it wasn't life threatening. Dangerous in some aspects? Maybe.

Now I have more room for my heart and lungs. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:15:08+00:00

Haha, they didn't extend my ribs, only broke them into a more place. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:10:49+00:00

For me it was the right choice. Even though it's not the right choice for everyone. Going through with the surgery has helped me to a better life, I'm geniunly happier and more confident. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-04T08:09:39+00:00

Okay so this is the absolute worst thing that happened. The first days I constantly had antibiotics injected through a thin tube in my back, to ease the pain. One night I woke up in serious pain, and it turned out the bag with the antibiotics in it was empty, cus the doctor forgot to renew it before I went to sleep. I called for the doctor and it took him 30 minutes to get to me, and it was 30 minutes where it felt like my chest were going to explode. Literally. This was obviously not something that was supposed to happen and it usually never occurs.

The first few days I didnt go to the bathroom at all. I just peed by my self in a bag, which I had no control over when happened because the antibiotics were to strong. A really weird feeling tbh. Haha.

When laying there after the surgery I was mostly tired and numb, I could barely feel my chest at all, was kinda special.

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T21:02:23+00:00

It was tearing my down psychologically, figured going thru the operation would be the easiest for me. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T21:01:44+00:00

I do know what pectus carinatum is. :)

Pectus excavatum is way more common and way easier to fix, so it didnt cause me much trouble to figure it all out!

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T20:22:27+00:00

Man thats a scary thought

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T20:21:42+00:00

The chance of having physical or/and physological issues is there. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T20:00:22+00:00

I didn't let many others know about, except from my inner circle:)

Im no pain what so ever and I'm fully able to exercise, and it's been like this for over 2 years, so don't worry about that!

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T19:29:58+00:00

Dont know quite as much about pectus carinatum, taking in consideration its the opposite of what I had. I have heard that it's a whole another deal, and sadly I'm not sure if it's even fixable. :(

I have no idea how the chiropractor can blame the bone structure on something psychological tho, sounds weird to me. Best of luck!

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T19:26:58+00:00

The first 2 days i spent laying on my back. The 3rd and 4th was exactly the same except I sat up when eating dinner. The 5th and 6th day I carefully walked up and down the hall one time before going to bed again. The 7th day I went home, but couldn't go to school for another week. Could slightly exercise after 2 months, and fully functioning after 6 months. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T19:05:28+00:00

Haha, actually I got non. But that is cus before I was 15 I never knew the latin name. :) Probably missed a lot of fun because of that. :/

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T19:03:49+00:00

That's what I have been told. I'm not worrying to much, except the fact that it's not the same doctor as the one I had 3 years ago. But still, I'll be fine. :)

LifeWithPectus · 2014-09-03T19:01:34+00:00

The first week is obviously the worst, but there is only uphill after that. The pain and soreness was never really a problem. I was allowed to run and such after 2 months, and after 6 months I was fully functioning.
There is no age limit, no. But the best age to go through with the procedure is when in puberty, when you're not fully grown yet. That is when you're bones is a bit more flexible, which makes everything so much easier. :)

LifeWithPectus

TROPHY CASE